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Topic Review (Newest First)

11-14-2012 01:25 PM

MikeS

I still haven't yet chosen, but trying to at least get the tank up and running with plants that will do well in either a discus or community....while keeping it simple and not 100 different species.

To:
tomfromstlouis:
- I heard you - re: the single strain discus preference - there's something to be said for that.
Just for the heck of it, here's a few little albums, hopefully to give you folks a little different insight into the various combinations available, depending on one's preference.

Over the past couple of years or so, my tank has undergone several mutations to give it a different look - vis-a-vis single strain, and just 2 strains together, in addition to the latest album which I posted earlier, if you care to have a look:

Cool, missed that. Thanks. Guess I have some homework to do. And get this tank back together and design the aquascape.

11-09-2012 10:54 PM

discuspaul

See my earlier post, mike - the one @ 9:45, just above yours - the second to last paragraph - where I mention that once a week water changes will suffice in your size of tank, with good filtration, no overcrowding, and near-adult, or adult fish. (I'm suggesting approx. 4" fish or larger). Should be no problem.

11-09-2012 10:41 PM

MikeS

Quote:

Originally Posted by tomfromstlouis

I'll jump in. I agree that discus are beautiful but I do not think you can call them low maintenance since they require more water changes than a tetra tank would. If you do decide to leap that direction, I would encourage you to pick one variety to avoid what I call the "clown tank" look of too many jolting colors. Paul's fish are quite beautiful, but I think the overall effect would be improved if he stuck with all blue, or yellow or whatever discus. Just my opinion of course.

BTW I have a 220 with a school of 45 rummynose in it and they are really fun to watch. Shrimp safe too, although a group of larger cichlids clearly would not be.

As for the thousand endlers idea, I am doing something like that in my 75. Early days for me, but a large mass of them is coming within a year. They do not school btw.

As far as water changes, are we talking once a week or what? That could be a deal breaker right there. No problem with once a week, but do not have the time for more than that, given how much water has to be changed.

And if I went for a large mass of fish, they would have to school. Thanks for the info.

11-09-2012 08:45 PM

discuspaul

Quote:

Originally Posted by MikeS

Nice, the ones I like are on the list. Just saw aquariumplants.com have a section for warm water/discus. No anubias? hmm. lover that plant, especially the jumbo ones. Will definitely try anyways.

Do they have certain substrate needs? I have aquariumplants.com substrate, kinda like kitty litter, and love it. It has a grayish tint, and I usually plant dwarf sag which basically makes it like a lawn after seeveral months. I do not have a problem in keeping some areas non planted.

Saw a video and the roseline sharks seem to be compatible. My buddy has my 8 fish in his tank now while mine is down. Told him they would be his if I went another direction. Guess he will be bummed. lol

Anubias ? I have them on my list, did you notice? - they do well in the higher discus temps.
I have a dozen of them on the DW in my tank.

Mike, your substrate should be ok, particularly in your size of tank, and if it's not too deep. Harder to keep clean than PFS though, so you would need to be sure you're doing a good vacuuming job on occasion. Carpeting that substrate with plantings could make it more difficult to keep the tank very clean - I'd advise against doing that, at least until you get a good routine down pat & become quite familiar with keeping discus.
Give discus quite a bit of swimming space. And discus can be slightly messy eaters, so you don't want to have a lot of uneaten food getting hidden away where you can't see it.

Roseline sharks (Denisonis) are not generally good, compatible tank-mates for discus - too active, and may tend to stress the slower-moving discus.

It also looks like you can mix the different discus. Any advice on that, or is it all up to the coloring I want?

That's all a matter of personal preference. Just do what suits you. Mix or match however you please.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MikeS

And would be better to plant the tank and have some of the inhabitants in there, and then gradually turn up the temp over days/weeks, then add the discus?

That's likely a very good idea.

Quote:

Originally Posted by tomfromstlouis

I'll jump in. I agree that discus are beautiful but I do not think you can call them low maintenance since they require more water changes than a tetra tank would. If you do decide to leap that direction, I would encourage you to pick one variety to avoid what I call the "clown tank" look of too many jolting colors. Paul's fish are quite beautiful, but I think the overall effect would be improved if he stuck with all blue, or yellow or whatever discus. Just my opinion of course.

BTW I have a 220 with a school of 45 rummynose in it and they are really fun to watch. Shrimp safe too, although a group of larger cichlids clearly would not be.

As for the thousand endlers idea, I am doing something like that in my 75. Early days for me, but a large mass of them is coming within a year. They do not school btw.

You're right, discus are not what you call 'low maintenance', but they're not high maintenance either, particularly if you have good filtration and ensure you don't push the bio-load limit for the tank.
In a large tank like Mike has, with a reasonably low number of fish, not too heavily planted, and with good-sized adult, or near adult discus, one can readily get by with one wc a week, of say 30% -40%. That's not high maintenance, imo.

As for mixing or matching discus, as I said earlier, it's totally personal preference. I've kept single strain discus tanks, as well as just 2 strains together, and 3 or more strains. Single strain tanks are very nice, but not for everybody - I prefer some contrasting coloration amongst the discus, although I don't care for discus tanks that contain every color under the rainbow ! LOL

11-09-2012 08:14 PM

tomfromstlouis

I'll jump in. I agree that discus are beautiful but I do not think you can call them low maintenance since they require more water changes than a tetra tank would. If you do decide to leap that direction, I would encourage you to pick one variety to avoid what I call the "clown tank" look of too many jolting colors. Paul's fish are quite beautiful, but I think the overall effect would be improved if he stuck with all blue, or yellow or whatever discus. Just my opinion of course.

BTW I have a 220 with a school of 45 rummynose in it and they are really fun to watch. Shrimp safe too, although a group of larger cichlids clearly would not be.

As for the thousand endlers idea, I am doing something like that in my 75. Early days for me, but a large mass of them is coming within a year. They do not school btw.

11-09-2012 08:03 PM

MikeS

And would be better to plant the tank and have some of the inhabitants in there, and then gradually turn up the temp over days/weeks, then add the discus?

11-09-2012 07:54 PM

MikeS

Quote:

Originally Posted by discuspaul

As you saw from the pics of my tank, I have quartz-based white silica pool filter sand for substrate, and I use root tab ferts in it to help grow the plants well.

Here's a partial list of the plants which will generally do well at the higher discus temps
(I keep my tank @ 83 -84 F). (Some, like Crypts, may take a while to acclimate, not doing so well for the first few weeks, but usually bouncing back nicely in a month or two

Nice, the ones I like are on the list. Just saw aquariumplants.com have a section for warm water/discus. No anubias? hmm. lover that plant, especially the jumbo ones. Will definitely try anyways.

Do they have certain substrate needs? I have aquariumplants.com substrate, kinda like kitty litter, and love it. It has a grayish tint, and I usually plant dwarf sag which basically makes it like a lawn after seeveral months. I do not have a problem in keeping some areas non planted.

Saw a video and the roseline sharks seem to be compatible. My buddy has my 8 fish in his tank now while mine is down. Told him they would be his if I went another direction. Guess he will be bummed. lol

It also looks like you can mix the different discus. Any advice on that, or is it all up to the coloring I want?

As you saw from the pics of my tank, I have quartz-based white silica pool filter sand for substrate, and I use root tab ferts in it to help grow the plants well.

Here's a partial list of the plants which will generally do well at the higher discus temps
(I keep my tank @ 83 -84 F). (Some, like Crypts, may take a while to acclimate, not doing so well for the first few weeks, but usually bouncing back nicely in a month or two

What type of plants would I be looking into, since the temps has to be so high?

11-09-2012 06:49 PM

discuspaul

Hey Mike, I just looked up the location of Tracy, Ca. -
The place to get high quality discus nearest you just happens to be Kenny's Discus in Daly City, Ca., near SF.
It's only 70 miles away from you - slightly over an hour's drive - perfect!

IMO, Kenny Chueng is absolutely the # 1 supplier of high quality discus in all of the U.S. ! He imports his discus from Forrest Discus in Malaysia, one of the top breeder/exporters in the world. I buy nothing but Forrest discus.
You couldn'y do any better than Kenny's discus!

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